HTML5 has been a growing standard for about 2 years. Although the “5” denotes that this is the fifth official version of HTML, the plan seems to be that it will be an ongoing project, with new features being continually added, and none being taken away. This will tremendously help with any new version headaches in the future. I will cover some easy changes that you can (and should) start implementing right now if you haven’t already, and help increase your SEO.

HTML5 Semantic Header/Nav/Footer

Google has filed for a patent to make an adjustment to it’s PR algorithm. The change states that the search engine (SE) can adjust the relative importance of a link on any given page. Here is where these new semantic markup tags become invaluable. Before HTML5, we had to build websites using spans and divs. Since these tags don’t necessarily help SE’s fully understand what a block of code is trying to accomplish on a webpage, we can now add a bit of context:

Links in the header and navigation get a little more of a boost compared to those in the footer. Divs and spans are still in use today of course, but their utility has been slowly diminishing as newer tags continue to be developed.

HTML5 Links

Links also get a bit of an update to help make their targets a little better understood. One of the most popular links is the rel=”author” attributes:

<link rel=”author” href=”https://plus.google.com/awesomeauthor″>

This bit of code is supposed to make author’s face show up next to the result description on the page (or author’s pizza, in this case).

HTML5 Forms

Ok, this last one is a little more complex, but super cool as it saves a lot of trouble behind the scenes. This bit of code validates the input field, and makes sure that the email address entered is a real email address:

A meta description tag is piece of code written in HTML that gives a brief “description” (as the name implies) of what the web page is about. The tag is usually found in addition to a meta keyword tag and is normally found below the title tag and above the closing head tag.

What does it have to do with SEO?

Take a look at this search result pulled from Google:

In the purple you will see the title tag (more information on this can be found here ). Below that you see the description. This is a short description that can contain keywords and should be informative as you want the person searching to know that your page is relevant to their query.

How important is the meta description?

Search engines don’t really place a whole of emphasis on a meta description in comparison to say, the title. However, it is still a crucial part of any SE optimization plan. A good description tells the user how relevant the information is to their search, and is arguably the most important piece of a page when it comes to getting users to click on your page. It is well known that a lot of users will read the description before they read the title tag. So even though SE’s may not place a whole lot of weight on the tag, getting traffic to your page is certainly going to make up for this.

Ok, so what is the best way create and structure a meta description tag?

Generally, it is better to use up to and no more than approximately 155 characters. The reason for this is that when the searcher reads the description, they see a complete and concise description. If it is longer than this, you will get a trailing ellipsis (…), and this in generally bad practice. The SE’s will read more characters than this however.

*Tip

If you are having problems thinking of a good description, a good rule of thumb is to tell why, what, who, when, where, and how of your page content.

Look up in the top left hand corner of your web browser. What do you see? These few little words are arguably the most important words on a website. The “title” of the page is just that. It tells not only the user, but the search engines (SE) what the page is about, just like the title of a book.

As it turns out, just a quick little rearrangement of these words can boost your SE rankings quite a bit. This can mean the difference between making a sale or not, so fix your title tags!

Where is the Title Tag?

The title tag is located in the HTML of each page. The tag should be as close to the very top of the page as possible, placed inside of the <heading> tags. Also, when searched for in SE’s, it is little short line of text that tells the searcher what the page is about.

What goes inside of the Title tags?

This is both amazingly simple and tricky at the same time. Some people believe that just putting the company name in the title tag is all that is required. However, smart SEO dictates that you include a keyword rich description in addition to the company name.

Ok, but what does that mean?

Alright, say that you are a seller of marbles in Atlanta Georgia. You will want to think about the area you want to focus on selling. For example, do you want to focus more on the local marble market in Atlanta, or focus on the entire state of Georgia?

So let’s assume that you choose to market just in Atlanta. You should come up with a couple of short phrases to include. Here is an example:

Don’t stress out too much over trying to get the perfect title tag combination because it doesn’t exist. The best way to go about it is to try different patterns of keywords in different orders. You will find that some of the terms you search for will work better than others. Also remember that you are providing a description for both humans and SEs, so make it as informative and doesn’t look like the tag was prepared solely for the SEs.

How many words can a Title Tag have?

Generally, about 55 words characters up in the description across all of the top SE’s. However, don’t worry if your title tag is longer than that because the SE’s will still index all the words.

*Tip

Sometimes it may easier to fill in the title tag after the content has be placed on the page. That way you ensure that your page title is relevant to your content. Also, make sure that the title is unique. This means create a custom title, and not just copy a sentence or heading from the content.